Our Take
4.7
NerdWallet rating
The bottom line:
A massive welcome offer and high rewards rate are selling points for this new business travel card. But the annual fee is hard to stomach given other stellar cards on the market.
Sapphire Reserve for Business℠
Annual fee
$795
Regular APR
Flex for Business Variable APR: 18.49%-26.49%
Intro APR
N/A
Apply now
on Chase's website
More details from Chase
- Earn 200,000 bonus points after you spend $30,000 on purchases in your first 6 months from account opening and with more than $2,500 in annual value, there's no competition.
- Earn 8x points on Chase Travel℠ for airline tickets, hotels, including The Edit℠, car rentals, cruises, activities and tours.
- Earn 5x total points on Lyft rides through 9/30/27.
- Earn 4x points on flights & hotels booked direct.
- Earn 3x points on social media & search engine advertising.
- Get the most flexible travel credit compared to any other card, with up to $300 in statement credits each anniversary year on travel purchases.
- Enjoy complimentary access to the Chase Sapphire Lounge® by The Club network and Priority Pass™ Select membership. Two guests may accompany the Primary Cardmember to the lounges free of charge.
- Member FDIC
View Rates & Fees
Pros & Cons
Pros
- New cardholder bonus offer
- Annual travel credit
- Statement credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS
- Airport lounge access for primary cardholder and guests
Cons
- High annual fee
- Complicated rewards
- Requires excellent credit
- Purchases that don't qualify for Flex for Business must be paid in full every month
Full Review
Chase launched the new
Sapphire Reserve for Business℠
in June 2025 to a mix of cheers and jeers. The card garnered praise for its dominant welcome offer and high rewards rate — particularly on flights and hotels. But it drew heat for its astronomical
$795
annual fee. That’s higher than any of our picks for the best business credit cards.Chase points to a long list of statement credits to justify the card’s cost. Business owners are skeptical, though. You need to use most of the card’s coupon-style discounts to cover its annual fee, especially after the first year.
Many business owners may not want to take on that much work. That’s especially true because there are comparable, cheaper business travel cards on the market.
Our take? If spending — and paying off — $30,000 over six months is realistic, pocket the sign-up bonus. Then, ditch or downgrade the card before you get hit with the next year’s annual fee.
This card is best for:
✔️ Rewards on flights, hotels and advertising.
✔️ Airport lounge access.
✔️ Perks and statement credits.
Not a fit? Consider these business credit cards
at American Express | at Chase | at Chase |
Annual fee $695 | Annual fee $95 | Annual fee $795 |
Regular APR 18.49%-29.24% Variable APR | Regular APR 20.24%-26.24% Variable APR | Regular APR Flex for Business Variable APR: 18.49%-26.49% |
Intro APR N/A | Intro APR N/A | Intro APR N/A |
Recommended Credit good - excellent | Recommended credit score 690-850good - excellent | Recommended credit score 690-850good - excellent |
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
is the OG of premium business travel cards. It shares many pros (airport lounge access, travel credits) and cons (coupon-style discounts) with the Sapphire Reserve for Business
. Its annual fee is slightly less ($695
), but still hefty. If that doesn't bother you, compare the two (more here) to see which is the best fit for you (see rates and fees).Chase’s flagship business travel card is basically the super flyweight version of the
Sapphire Reserve for Business
. It delivers a great welcome offer (90,000
points) and excellent rewards, but doesn’t offer many perks beyond that. But with an annual fee of just $95
, you don't need fancy perks to justify keeping the Chase Ink Business Preferred
in your wallet.At a glance: Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business
💳 Card type: Business travel card.
💲 Annual fee: $
795
.💰 Sign-up bonus:
Earn 200,000 bonus points after you spend $30,000 on purchases in your first 6 months from account opening.
🎉 Rewards:
- 4X points on flights and hotels.
- 8X points on Chase Travel purchases.
- 3x points on social media and search engine advertising.
- 1X points on everything else.
📈 APR: The
Sapphire Reserve for Business
is a pay-in-full card. However, certain purchases may be eligible for Flex for Business financing. Flex for Business Variable APR: 18.49%-26.49%
.💷 Foreign transaction fee: None.
🎆 Other benefits:
- $300 annual travel credit.
- $120 statement credit on TSA PreCheck®, Global Entry or Nexus (every four years).
- $500 credit for prepaid stays with The Edit by Chase Travel℠.
- $400 annual credit for ZipRecruiter purchases.
- $200 Google Workspace credit toward AI tools for business.
- $300 in annual DoorDash statement credits (doled out monthly), plus a free DashPass membership.
- $120 in annual Lyft in-app credits (up to $10 monthly).
- $100 Giftcards.com credit.
- IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status (through 12/31/2027).
Spend $120,000 in a calendar year to earn elite status through the following calendar year:
- Southwest A-List status (must hit $120K spending requirements).
- IHG One Rewards Diamond Elite status.
See complete rates and fees on Chase's website.
Benefits and perks
Huge welcome offer
The
Sapphire Reserve for Business
’s initial welcome offer blows even the best business card sign-up bonuses out of the water. Earn 200,000 bonus points after you spend $30,000 on purchases in your first 6 months from account opening.
Not only is that a colossal cache of points, but you get ample time to earn them — six months versus the standard three months.
Those points are worth at least $2,000 in travel booked via Chase Travel℠. But they could be worth twice that with Chase’s new Points Boost feature. This bumps your redemption value to 2 cents per point for select flights and hotels on the card’s travel portal.
Airport lounge access
Chase delivers on this fan-favorite perk for frequent fliers, making it one of the best business credit cards for airport lounge access. That's because primary cardholders and — more notably — up to two guests get free access to more than 1,300 Priority Pass Select lounges. Other premium business travel cards have rolled back guest access to lounges.
The
Sapphire Reserve for Business
also grants you access to the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club network of lounges, which are known to have top-tier food and amenities. The Sapphire Lounge network currently includes seven locations, with Chase noting that three more are “coming soon.”- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).
- New York City - John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
- New York City - LaGuardia Airport (LGA).
- Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).
- San Diego International Airport (SAN).
- Hong Kong International Airport (HKG).
- Coming soon: Dallas Forth Worth International Airport (DFW).
- Coming soon: Las Vegas - Harry Reid International Airport (LAS).
- Coming soon: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Big rewards on flights, hotels and advertising
Few cards match the
Sapphire Reserve for Business
when it comes to rewards for flights and hotels. Cardholders earn 4X points on flights and hotels, and 8X points on Chase Travel℠ purchases. Other comparable business travel cards award 1X to 3X points on travel.The
Sapphire Reserve for Business
is also an excellent option for companies with major advertising expenses. The card earns 3X points for every ad dollar spent on Google, Facebook, Instagram and other eligible platforms. And unlike other popular cards for advertising rewards, there’s no spending cap.Spend $250,000 on Google ads with this card each year and you'll get 750,000 points. If you use those points for travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal, they could be worth up to $15,000, thanks to the card’s Points Boost perk.
The card is a strong addition for business owners using the so-called "Chase trifecta." This strategic combination of multiple Chase business cards maximizes your point-earning potential.
Flexible annual travel credit
Most cards in this class offer some form of annual travel credit. But none are as flexible as the
Sapphire Reserve for Business
’s $300 yearly benefit. This perk automatically applies to any travel purchase — no work required. Similar benefits from the
Capital One Venture X Business Card
and the AmEx Business Platinum stipulate the credit only applies in certain circumstances. For the Venture X Business, that’s on prepaid travel through the card’s portal. For the AmEx Business Platinum, it’s on purchases with a specific, pre-selected airline. Drawbacks and alternatives
Massive annual fee
The
Sapphire Reserve for Business
made a splash with its annual fee — and not in a good way. The $795
yearly price tag makes it the most expensive mainstream business credit card. It also makes it a very difficult card to justify carrying long term.You'll need to spend $20,000 on flights and hotels just to break even. Yes, you can cut that down if you cash in some of the cards perks and credits. But the card’s most useful perks are for business travelers. And they're also not novel.
For instance, the
Capital One Venture X Business
delivers comparable lounge access and a similar travel credit for a fraction of the annual fee. Coupon-style discounts
Chase claims it stuffed the
Sapphire Reserve for Business
with over $2,500 in annual value. That may technically be true. But realizing that full amount requires cashing in on numerous statement credits. And those may be for services your business may not actually need — like DoorDash grocery orders, Lyft rides and ZipRecruiter purchases.Other premium business travel cards have a clearer return on investment. The
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
, for example, offers a companion pass, lounge access, complimentary upgrades and free checked bags. These are all easy perks to use for frequent fliers.If you don’t mind tracking statement credits, weigh those offered by the Sapphire Reserve for Business against those available via
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
. You may find the latter a better and (slightly) more affordable fit.Sapphire Reserve for Business | AmEx Business Platinum |
|---|---|
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How we evaluated the Sapphire Reserve for Business
NerdWallet's business credit card experts compared the Sapphire Reserve for Business to other travel business cards, evaluating how the card's rewards, perks, fees and features stack up to its peers.
View rates and fees of
Capital One Venture X Business
.To view rates and fees of
The Platinum Card® from American Express
, see this page.To view rates and fees of the
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
, see this page.Apply now
on Chase's website
New elevated offer
American Express
American Express® Business Gold Card
NerdWallet Rating
4.3
Bonus Amount
100,000 points
